Mettawa Manor was built in 1927. When Bill Kurtis, legendary newsman, and his wife Donna LaPietra bought the 10,000 square foot mansion and 65-acre property in 1990, they became the estate’s just second owners. Over the last nearly thirty years, they have not only restored the existing garden areas, they have also added new elements… Continue reading Gardens of Mettawa Manor

“Time waits for no man,” may be the well-known saying, but when I arrived home Monday evening, after five days in Austin, I thought, “The garden waits not for its gardener,” was a much more appropriate sentiment. When I opened the car door, I was enveloped in the sweet perfume of Viburnum juddii. I breathed… Continue reading The Garden Waits Not for Its Gardener

Today is National Haiku Poetry Day, a day encouraging everyone to exercise their creativity. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that consists of 3 lines of prose that do not rhyme but are written in a pattern of syllables. The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, and the last line has… Continue reading Gardening Haiku

When the weekend weather forecast predicts partly sunny skies with high temps between 40 and 50° it is going to be a great weekend to get outside and get some early spring gardening chores checked off the list. If the soil is too moist to get in the garden to cut back perennials, we can… Continue reading Early Spring Garden Chores to do this Weekend

Some plants are not shown the appreciation they deserve. They don’t demand it with flashy flowers or foliage so instead, they are relegated to the backgrounds of our landscapes – workhorses working (or growing). Arborvitaes are a prime example. Some are planted as hedges; others provide privacy. Some create wind blocks; others play a part… Continue reading Arborvitaes: Workhorses in the Landscape